 |
All are feared dead after a Tara Air plane carrying 23 people -- two of
them babies -- crashed Wednesday morning in mountainous northern Nepal
midway through what should have been a 19-minute flight, officials said. |
February 24, 2016 - EARTH - Here are the latest incidents of plane crashes across the planet.
Nepal passenger plane crash kills all 23 on board
A small passenger plane has crashed in mountainous western Nepal, killing all 23 people on board.
The Twin Otter aircraft, operated by Tara Air, was travelling from Pokhara to Jomsom and lost contact with the control tower shortly after taking off.
Most of those on board were Nepalis. It is not clear what caused the crash.
The plane was carrying three crew and 20 passengers, one of them Chinese and one Kuwaiti. Nepal's aviation industry has a poor safety record.
According to Sanjiv Gautam, director general of Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority, the plane's wreckage was found near the village of Dana in Myagdi district.
Earlier he told the BBC Nepali Service that the aircraft had lost
contact with the control tower at Pokhara 10 minutes after take-off.
 |
Most of the 19 bodies retrieved as of early Wednesday evening were
charred beyond recognition, said Bishwa Raj Khadka,
deputy police
superintendent for Myagdi district. |
The identities of those on board have yet to be released. Two of those on board were children.
Three
helicopters were sent to search for the missing plane, Tara Air said on
its website, adding that "the weather at both origin and destination
airports was favourable" for the 20-minute flight.
Nepal's army said, however, that fog had hampered the search for the aircraft.
"It
looks like the plane crashed into the hillside. The wreckage was still
in flames when the team arrived," chief district officer Sagar Mani
Pathak told AFP news agency.
"We are sending teams to bring down the bodies,
Nepal's recent air crashes
March 2015: Lucky escape for passengers after plane skids off runway in fog in Kathmandu
February 2014: Bodies of all 18 people recovered after small plane crashes in western Nepal
September 2012: Plane heading for Everest region crashes on the outskirts of Kathmandu, killing all 19 on board
May 2012: Fifteen people die when plane carrying Indian pilgrims crashes in northern Nepal
September 2010: Sight-seeing flight crashes into a hillside near Kathmandu
September 2006: All 24 people on board a WWF helicopter die when it crashes in eastern Nepal
Pokhara
is a resort town some 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of the capital
Kathmandu. Jomsom, a short distance further north, is the starting point
for many people trekking in the Himalayas.
Nepal has a limited road network and many areas are accessible only on foot or by air.
 |
Tara Air uses Twin Otters and other planes on its routes in Nepal (AFP file photo) |
 |
Location of the plane crash. |
 |
Relatives waited for information at Pokhara airport. EPA |
Since 1949, the year the first aircraft landed in Nepal, there have been more than 70 different crashes involving planes and helicopters, in which more than 700 people have been killed.
Most accidents have been attributed to bad weather, inexperienced pilots and inadequate maintenance.
In 2013, the European Union banned all Nepalese airlines from flying to its territory for safety reasons. -
BBC.
Small plane crashes in Palatka backyard, Florida
 |
Photo Courtesy: Jessica Clark, FCN
|
The pilot of a small plane that had crashed into the backyard of a home Tuesday morning in Palatka was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, authorities said.
The plane went down about 11:15 a.m., coming to a final rest in the yard of a home on Oleander Drive off Dogwood Lane, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Richard Jackson, the homeowner where the plane crashed, spoke to First Coast News.
"I was standing in my backyard and all of a sudden I heard what sounded like an explosion," Jackson said. "I looked up and here comes a plane crashing down out of the sky with a parachute behind it. It landed in my backyard."
The pilot, 62-year-old David Thomas of Apex, North Carolina, suffered minor injuries in the crash, troopers said. He was flying from Raleigh, N.C. to Leesburg when he started having engine trouble, according to FHP.
Thomas was forced to deploy his plane's parachute to assist in the landing.
The homeowner says Thomas was released from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon and he told her that the parachute saved his life. -
FCN.
Video captures plane crashing into California street
 |
A small plane crashed in Pacoima near Whiteman Airport on Feb. 22, 2016. (Credit: KTLA) |
Dramatic new video captured the moment a small plane crashed onto a busy street in Pacoima, California.
A small plane made a crash landing on a street in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. The pilot managed to walk away without any injuries.
The plane came down just outside Whiteman Airport, plowing into several parked cars and ripping off one of the plane's wings.
No word yet as to what forced the pilot to make the unusual landing. Thankfully, no one on the ground was hurt either. -
WIBW.
Student missing after plane crashes into Long Island Sound
 |
The plane in which Gerson Salmon-Negron (left) was a passenger when it
crashed into the Long Island Sound is lifted out of Setauket Harbor.
Photo: Facebook ; Victor Alcorn |
A college student from Queens is missing after a
small plane carrying him and three other New Yorkers made an emergency landing in the frigid Long Island Sound, authorities said Sunday.
A student pilot was at the controls of the Piper Archer four-seater when it began experiencing engine trouble Saturday night, authorities said. The instructor quickly took over, but was forced to land the plane in Setauket Harbor, about 60 miles east of New York City, around 11:05 p.m., officials said.
The student pilot, Austricio Ramirez, the instructor, Nelson Gomez, and their passengers, Wady Perez and Gerson Salmon-Negron, were able to escape the wreckage in the dark water — but chaos soon ensued, authorities said.
Suffolk County Police Officer Christopher Draskin told The Post that he and other cops heard screaming from where they were onshore and were trying to figure out what to do when they “miraculously happened upon three kayaks” nearby.
They paddled out into the middle of the channel and found two of the men frantically treading water and yelling. Only one of them was wearing a life jacket.
The officers were unable to pull the two men into their kayaks and instead had to tow them to shore through the cold water.
The third rescued man was later found swimming toward shore and rescued.
But Salmon-Negron, 23, a CCNY student, remains missing, authorities said. -
NYPost.
Pastor gives up flying after surviving 3rd plane crash
 |
Photo courtesy WOOD-TV |
A retired pastor from Michigan has told his wife that he is giving up piloting after surviving his third plane crash.
According to a report recently released from the National
Transportation Safety Board, 67-year-old Steven Stam’s single-engine
plane ended up crashed on Interstate 80 near
Laramie, Wyoming. Stam stopped just short of colliding with a canyon
wall.
Stam has survived two crashes prior to this incident. In 2009, he
crashed at Park Township Airport. And in July 2015, Stam landed his
plane on a Lake Michigan beach in Ottawa County Township.
The pilot of 22 years told The Detroit News Friday that he broke his
back in the latest crash and informed his wife that he’d be giving up
flying. -
WNCN.
Pilot dies in small aircraft crash in Union County
 |
One person was believed killed in a Union County plane crash Thursday, Feb. 18.
WBTV
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article61197967.html#storylink=cpy
|
One person was killed in a Union County plane crash Thursday night.
The crash happened around 7 p.m. in a wooded area near New Salem and New Hope Church roads, according to the Union County Sheriff’s Office.
WBTV, the Observer’s news partner, reported that the pilot was killed in the crash. Investigators identified the pilot as James Howard Cook, 68, of Lexington.
Authorities told WBTV that Cook had flown a client to Daytona Beach, Fla., earlier Thursday and they believe he was returning to Greensboro when the crash occurred.
WSOC-TV reported that Cook was a long-time pilot for Richard Childress Racing. He retired from the race team and worked part-time for various corporate customers, the station reported.
It was unclear what caused the crash.
Photos from the scene taken by WBTV showed a small, single-engine plane crashed into a grove of trees. Firefighters and other first responders surrounded the craft. -
Charlotte Observer.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article61197967.html#storylink=cpy
Small plane crashes in yard while trying to land at TavernAero Park Airport, Florida
A small plane crashed Thursday night in a Florida Keys yard while trying to land at a nearby airport.
The crash was reported about 6:40 p.m. in Tavernier.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the Rans RV 7 crashed into a Tavernier subdivision while attempting to land at TavernAero Park Airport.
The pilot, who was the only person on board, wasn't injured in the crash, and there were no reported injuries on the ground.
Monroe County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Becky Herrin said the plane struck some telephone lines on Plantation Avenue.
Carol Houtzel was at home when the plane crashed into her front yard, damaging her sport utility vehicle parked in the driveway.
"We just all looked at each other like, 'What happened?' And I ran out on the deck and I looked over the edge and there was a tail of a plane in my front yard," Houtzel told Local 10 News reporter Derek Shore.
A neighbor said she saw the plane fly by low to the ground and then circle back, as if the pilot "thought this was the landing strip." She said the wing of the plane clipped a mailbox and a basketball hoop.
Neighbors and first responders helped free the pilot, who was hanging upside down.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. -
Local10.
1 dead in small aircraft crash at Buckeye airport
One person was killed when a small aircraft crashed at Buckeye Municipal Airport Tuesday afternoon, police said.
The
pilot, 55-year-old James George III of North Dakota, had been the only
person aboard the single-engine Evolution REVO light sport aircraft when
it went down, according to an Federal Aviation Administration official.
George was taking off from Buckeye.
Buckeye Police Department
received multiple 911 calls regarding a crash at the airport, 3000 S.
Palo Verde Road, at about 1:52 p.m., a police spokesman said.
The owners of the aircraft were not involved with the crash, police said.
Authorities
said that the police department, FAA and National Transportation Safety
Board are working together in investigating the incident. -
AZ Central.
Three involved, at least one injured in Robertson County plane crash
 |
Blackjack Volunteer Fire Department Photo |
The Robertson County Sheriff's Office has confirmed to KBTX that a plane has crashed in the county.
Reports indicate the crash happened on private property near the intersection of Jack Rabbit Lane and OSR.
Sheriff Gerald Yezak says three people were involved in
the crash. According to DPS, the pilot suffered a non-life threatening
head injury and was taken to the hospital. Two passengers were able to
walk away from the crash. One of the three called 911 to report the
crash.
According to DPS, the small plane was coming from
Arlington and its destination was College Station. In the crash, the
wing was severed, and the plane crashed sideways.
DPS says the FAA is enroute to investigate. -
KBTX.
Three people make lucky escape after plane crash at Bembridge Airport on Isle of Wight
A pilot and two passengers were lucky to
escape serious injury today when their light aircraft crashed and rolled
on to its roof as it came in to land.
Emergency services, including fire appliances and paramedics, rushed to
the scene at 11.30am after reports there were three casualties on board
the four-seater, single engine plane.
However, the trio miracuolously walked away from the crash at Bembridge
Airport, Isle of Wight, only requiring treatment by paramedics at the
scene for shock and some cuts.
An Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue spokeswoman said: "We attended a light aircraft crash which was on its roof.
"There were three casualties, which were walking wounded."
She added three appliances were called to the scene, in addition to a
two special appliances, but no fuel was spilled from the Reims-Cessna
F172M Skyhawk.
Air traffic investigators have been contacted about the accident.
Bembridge Airport is an unlicensed airfield managed by the Vectis
Gliding Club, meaning it is not open to commercial or training flights
and visiting pilots require prior permission to land there. -
Telegraph.